Disney Dreamlight Valley‘s December 6 update will come packing new characters, an expanded story, and holiday-themed content–but Gameloft has announced that a variety of bug fixes and fan-requested features are also debuting with the patch.

Gameloft took to Twitter Monday to share that Dreamlight Valley’s second free content update since entering Early Access in September will be titled Missions in Uncharted Space. The patch notes are looking very promising for fans who have been struggling with performance issues–especially those playing the game on the rough Nintendo Switch version, which is known for framerate problems and repeated crashing.

Missions in Uncharted Space will optimize game stability across all versions of the game, with special attention paid to the Nintendo Switch experience. The update will also bring an overall decrease in loading screens and a reduced installation size, while fixes for many of the game’s bugged quests will be addressed, hopefully granting stuck players the chance to finally finish leveling up their Disney pals.

Wood distribution is also receiving an overhaul, having specific types of wood spawn in each biome rather than having drops be random as they’ve previously been. But perhaps most exciting for most players will be the addition of iron ingots for sale at Kristoff’s stall–one of the most requested features since the game’s launch due to the tedious nature of mining nodes to collect so many of the crafting material. Gameloft states other new items will be coming to the stall, too, but didn’t hint any further about what those may be.

Missions in Uncharted Space will launch tomorrow, December 6, for Dreamlight Valley on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch, and PC. Whether you’re a returning player or diving in for the first time, you can check out our guides hub for everything you need to know about this cozy life sim. Check out the complete patch notes below.

Disney Dreamlight Valley December patch notes

Improvements and Optimizations

• We are now fully compatible with Steam Deck and verified by Steam.
• Optimized game stability on all platforms. In particular, we put a considerable focus on optimizing the experience on Nintendo Switch, which players should find smoother now. We will continue to evaluate the performance of each platform and push for further improvements and optimizations in upcoming updates as part of Early Access.
• It’s getting chilly outside, so we’ve updated many of the fireplaces in Dreamlight Valley to allow you to manually light them. Exceptions include the Horned Tavern Fireplace, Cozy Fireplace, Antique Furnace, and Celestial Fireplace.
• Kristoff has expanded the inventory of his stall to include a wider range of items (Pssst… there may be some iron ingots in there).
• Improved wood distribution across all biomes. This change will make it so that the wood you find in each biome feels less random. While spawn rates will be slightly less frequent than before, each biome will now have a fixed set of wood that can spawn and will appear in consistent amounts, taking the guesswork out of gathering.
• Buffed critter stomachs to allow for even more treat sharing. It is now possible to feed critters multiple times per day.
• Reduced game loading times across all platforms.
• Reduced game installation size.
• Improved the loading of in-game assets to provide players with better performance.
• Deployed optimizations to reduce chances of frame drops which were caused by certain animations.
• Improved performance and memory usage of large gardens (50+ plants) while gardening.
• Removed “dried plant” VFX to improve game performance.
• Optimized various VFX to improve game performance.
• Fixed memory leaks which led to reduced performance and crashes in certain circumstances.
• Improved Item limits feedback in Furniture Edit Mode by adding a second on-screen counter. The top counter tracks the number of different items placed in the Valley, while the bottom counter tracks the total number of items, including duplicates. This should provide more clarity when reaching these limits, as like before, hitting either limit will prevent players from placing any more items in their Valley – unique items or total items respectively – until they remove items to make space.

Bug fixes

• All avatars now have the same animation speeds. Specifically, you will notice that crop watering and cooking animations have been updated to reflect this.
• We’ve confirmed that critters are not conspiring against you. Critters that have been befriended through feeding will now correctly appear in the Collection menu.
• Camera-shy no more! The avatar will now always look at the camera when in selfie mode.
• Fixed a soft-lock which sometimes occurred when pressing the Return to Title Screen button.
• The Collection menu now updates correctly when new resources are collected.
• “A Deal with Ursula” quest: Players who previously had picked up the Dark Crystal should now be able to complete the quest.
• “Photo Fervor” quest: The Elephant Graveyard can now be properly photographed.
• “The Dreamlight Fountain” quest: The Celebration Ribbon will now be properly recognized when placed close to the fountain.
• “Part of His World” quest: Players who were encountering a blocker will find the Nautilus consumable has been given back, which should unlock progression.
• “Lair Sweet Lair” quest: When Goofy redecorated his house, he accidentally misplaced a quest-critical piece of paper. It has been recovered and returned to its expected position in his house.
• “Peacemakers” quest: Improved collision issues with palm trees to reduce the chance of Leader Shards and other items getting caught in them.